School summer holidays are arguably one of the most expensive times of the year where spending is concerned, and if you’ve gone a little overboard. Your credit card spending and are panicking about how to cope, here are some tips to help you:
Now that children are back in school and settled in the first term of the year, may mums find they have a lot of time to work or study. If that sounds like you, but you’re struggling to pool together the money to pay for childcare so you can take a course, you could be eligible for grants or funding through a bursary.
The average cost of a new baby is £5,464 in the first year of their child’s life – increasing by four per cent to £5,666 for those living in London.
It’s obviously excludes the cost of living, and any childcare required to raise the child, so it’s easy to see how money can be tight for new mums in maternity leave.
Payday loans have received a lot of bad press recently. But for many families struggling to make ends meet, when a big bill hits the doormat, or the car breaks down and costs a bomb to fix, there really aren’t many other options.
Going away to university can have a mix of feelings for you and your child alike – they are fleeing the nest (maybe permanently now they have a taste for it). For them, it may be a welcome chance to break free into independence and with it, some mistakes along the way.
Here are some tips to help them avoid identity theft (some you can apply to yourself, too):
Worrying about finances is never a good thing, but worrying about whether or not you’ll be able to afford essential bills like your utilities or even food shopping is even worse, especially if you have little mouths to feed and look after.
It is often said that when it comes to business, women are les likely to take financial risks than their male counterparts. Women are perceived to generally not want to take out bank loans to start or grow their business, and even when they do it is a much smaller amount than men.
But, it seems that perhaps women are not as over-cautious with lending as believed, because a report has come out showing that banks are discriminating against women.
Having a business idea and no money to make it a reality can be a real downer. And most mums don’t like the thought of taking out loans, or borrowing from friends and family because of the added pressure.
This is why crowdfunding is a very good option.
Preparing the children for the new school year can be costly. Everything from new school shoes, uniform, books and everything else in between can soon add up.
Here are five tips to help you cut the cost of school uniforms and keep some money in your current account:
This year, we’ve actually seen wonderful summer weather, and part of that enjoyment has meant we’ve splurged on some new clothes.
But what about last year’s stragglers that are clogging up your wardrobe?
There are some people’s think having a blog or website alone doesn’t make money, but the truth is that they can be a money spinner if you know what to do, and what to sell.
Here are four ways you can make money writing online:
Finding out that you are expecting your first child can be a mix of feelings – joy, excitement, fear and confusion.
You may have already started thinking about how you’ll cope with an extra mouth to feed and how you’ll do that. Will you leave your job and become a full-time mum, will you cut back your hours so you can spend more time with your baby, or will you work full-time because you need the money?
Working from home has become the reality for millions of people around the world, thanks to the internet. Our mum friends in the US have taken a lead on this, and it’s not uncommon to find a mother homeschooling her children while running a home-based business at the same time.
If you’re looking for a way to generate money doing just that (homeschooling aside), there are three models you can use to keep a steady flow of cash coming through:
Do you often fancy your chances in the weekly lottery? Are you known to make an impulse scratch card purchase at the newsagents when you get a feeling that luck is on your side? Or maybe a a regular trip to the bingo with the girls is more your thing. Perhaps you can’t resist playing free slots on your smartphone on the way to work?
Whatever you’re into, you probably aren’t alone. The Gambling Commission estimates that there are between 236,000 and 378,000 problem gamblers in Britain, but Gamblers Anonymous thinks it is nearer 600,000 and women make a significant percentage of those figures.
If you’re left feeling ashamed, here are some tips to make sure you gamble sensibly:
Tight budget or not, buying school uniforms is a must for every parent with school-aged children. And the older they get the more expensive and mandatory school uniform becomes.
So how can parents shop on a budget when purchasing school uniform during times of austerity? Here are four tips to help you buy school uniform on a tight budget:
While the UK ranks well for paid maternity leave when compared to other countries, there is a distinction between paid and week paid, and when it is compared to countries providing well-paid maternity leave it slips down the scale.
With high street banks and building societies offering rock-bottom interest rates and little protection against inflation, perhaps it’s worth thinking about an alternative home for your money.
If you have an adventurous disposition and tolerance towards risk, there are various low to high risk investment strategies you may wish to consider, always remembering:
Are you sitting on a small fortune at home with unused it’s you’ve left to collect dust in cupboards, in the shed and everywhere else in between?
If you’re thinking about decluttering and don’t want to just throw out unused possessions then why not get some money back for your efforts?
Here are six ways you can do just that:
There’s been a lot of publicity on government cuts since the Coalition’s budget reforms last year. But it seems that many families are just trying to get by without claiming benefits that they are actually entitled to.
New research published by Turn2us, part of national charity Elizabeth Finn Care, has found that families who could be in most need of financial help are not accessing the financial support that is available to them.
Hands up if you know or have known of at least one Avon lady? Somehow when you see that brochure, you know exactly what to expect.
Did you know that Avon and other businesses like it (Virgin at Home, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Kleeneze…) are all network marketing businesses?
